Blessed Assurance!

When I emptied out our letterbox yesterday, among the junk mail was a advertisement which promised "2 Hours of Heaven - only $79.00."  I suppose this could be correct - if a facial, a pedicure, eyebrow shape, and 1/2 of your back massaged is heaven!  For me, this promise of heaven was not reassuring.  We can pay money for insurance, but we still have little assurance in this world.  Even insurance companies who receive goods for services have the skillful knack of wriggling off the hook.

Here's another example:  Zed's bunny CJ has a blocked tear duct, apparently a common malady among rabbits.  We took her to the vet, and shelled out what I consider to be a ludicrous amount of money for treatment (one could afford nearly 4 hours of heaven with that kind of money!).  I might be able to justify it if the treatment actually worked.  But after a couple weeks of medicine and careful cleaning, little CJ's eye is not better.  The vet wants us to come back for another consulting fee plus treatment costs.  I jumped online to learn a little about various remedies.  Come to find out that for some bunnies, this is a chronic condition not improved through antibiotics, tooth extraction, or draining with a catheter!  I would be more inclined to pay for treatment if the vet would give me assurance they will fix the problem with a set price.  But can they offer me such assurance?  Not in this world!

The world can offer no assurance like God.  What He says He will do.  While speaking to the religious people in Athens Paul says this in Acts 17:30-31:  "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹ because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."  Through Christ's death and resurrection, God has given us assurance of several things:  that He will ultimately judge all people according to righteousness, and has also given assurance that those who repent and trust in Jesus Christ will overcome death and be given eternal life, even as Jesus has.  People alive in this world only have assurance of death and judgment.  Judgment of sinners according to God's righteousness means certain damnation.  But God gives assurance of eternal life through repentance and faith in Christ.  How good is God's assurance!

Armed with this knowledge, we receive this exhortation written in Hebrews 10:19-25:  "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and having a High Priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."  The Day of Judgment is approaching, of this we are assured.  Let us encourage one another and draw nearer to Christ than ever before, holding fast the confession of our faith without wavering, for God is faithful. 

Praise God that what He has promised He is able to perform (Rom. 4:21).  Thank God that He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6)!